Gainesville a Finalist For 'Titletown USA'

Gainesville, Florida, has been selected as a finalist for SportsCenter's fan-based and interactive search for "TitleTown USA."

Gainesville is one of 20 cities to be profiled as part of SportsCenter's nationwide search for America's top championship city. ESPN will visit Gainesville on Thursday, July 10, to film the town's segment for "TitleTown USA" at the University of Florida. People who support the Orange and Blue should come out to show the nation why Gainesville should be recognized as "TitleTown USA."

Gator fans of all ages are encouraged to attend the shoot that will be broadcast from the grass outside the North End Zone of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, beginning around 1:30 p.m. 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow will be interviewed by UF alum Erin Andrews.

The 20 finalists include Boston; Green Bay, Wis.; Louisville, Ky.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Detroit; Williamsport, Pa.; New York; Los Angeles; Columbus, Ohio; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; San Francisco; Pittsburgh; Valdosta, Ga.; Massillon, Ohio; Parkersburg, W. Va.; Palo Alto, Calif.; Lawrence, Kan. and Chicago.

The finalists for "TitleTown USA" were selected by a combination of 2,000 fan-generated nominations, an ESPN production research team that pared down nominations to 50, and a blue-ribbon panel consisting of 19 non-ESPN journalists and 12 SportsCenter anchors who ranked the list of 50 communities.

As part of the series, SportsCenter will have daily segments featuring each of the cities (one city per day) from July 4 – 23. At the conclusion of the series, fans will select the winner through online voting Thursday, July 24 – Saturday, July 26. The winner will be announced on SportsCenter Sunday, July 27, at 11 p.m.